definitions - Tanzania

Tanzania(n.)

1.a republic in eastern Africa

2.(MeSH)A republic in eastern Africa, south of UGANDA and north of MOZAMBIQUE. Its capital is Dar es Salaam (House of Peace). It was formed in 1964 by a merger of the countries of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The country has been dominated successively by Arabs, Portugal, Oman, Zanzibar, Germany, and Britain. It became a British mandate in 1920 as Tanganyika and became independent in 1961. It united with Zanzibar in 1964 as Tanzania. Tanganyika was named for the lake of that name, kou tanganyika meaning to join, i.e., the place where waters met and Zanzibar, from Zeni or Zengj, the name of a local people, meaning black + the Arabic barr, coast or shore. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1186&Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p533, 609);A country in eastern Africa under the domination of various nations before and during the 19th century. It became a British mandate as Tanganyika in 1920. In 1964 it merged with Zanzibar to become TANZANIA. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1186)

1 Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
² 007 from Kenya and Uganda.

Tanzania is a state composed of 26 regions (mikoa), including those of the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar.[6] The head of state is PresidentJakaya Mrisho Kikwete, elected in 2005. Since 1996, the official capital of Tanzania has been Dodoma, where Parliament and some government offices are located.[7] Between independence and 1996, the main coastal city of Dar es Salaam served as the country's political capital. Today, Dar es Salaam remains the principal commercial city of Tanzania and the de facto seat of most government institutions.[6][8] It is the major seaport for the country and its landlocked neighbours.

The name Tanzania derives from the names of the two states Tanganyika and Zanzibar that united in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which later the same year was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania.[9]

History

Tanzania is one of the oldest known inhabited areas on Earth; fossil remains of humans and pre-human hominids have been found dating back over two million years. More recently, Tanzania is believed to have been populated by hunter-gatherer communities, probably Cushitic and Khoisan speaking people. About 2,000 years ago, Bantu-speaking people began to arrive from western Africa in a series of migrations. Later, Nilotic pastoralists arrived, and continued to immigrate into the area through to the 18th century.[10]

The people of Tanzania are associated with the production of steel. The Haya people of East Africa invented a type of high-heat blast furnace which allowed them to forge carbon steel at 1,802 °C (3,276 °F) nearly 2,000 years ago. The Shana clan in the Pare tribe also produced iron.[citation needed]

One of Tanzania's most important archeological sites is Engaruka in the Great Rift Valley which includes an irrigation and cultivation system.

Travellers and merchants from the Persian Gulf and western India have visited the East African coast since early in the first millennium AD. Islam was practised on the Swahili Coast as early as the eighth or ninth century AD.[11]

Claiming the coastal strip, Omani Sultan Seyyid Said moved his capital to Zanzibar City in 1840. During this time, Zanzibar became the centre for the Arab slave trade.[12] Between 65% to 90% of the population of Arab-SwahiliZanzibar was enslaved.[13] One of the most famous slave traders on the East African coast was Tippu Tip, who was himself the grandson of an enslaved African. The Nyamwezi slave traders operated under the leadership of Msiri and Mirambo.[14] According to Timothy Insoll, "Figures record the exporting of 718,000 slaves from the Swahili coast during the 19th century, and the retention of 769,000 on the coast."[15]

British rule came to an end in 1961 after a relatively peaceful (compared with neighbouring Kenya, for instance) transition to independence. In 1954, Julius Nyerere transformed an organization into the politically oriented Tanganyika African National Union (TANU). TANU's main objective was to achieve national sovereignty for Tanganyika. A campaign to register new members was launched, and within a year TANU had become the leading political organization in the country.

After the Zanzibar Revolution overthrew the Arab dynasty in neighbouring Zanzibar, which had become independent in 1963, the island merged with mainland Tanganyika to form the nation of Tanzania on 26 April 1964. The union of the two, hitherto separate, regions was controversial among many Zanzibaris (even those sympathetic to the revolution) but was accepted by both the Nyerere government and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar owing to shared political values and goals.

From the late 1970s, Tanzania's economy took a turn for the worse. Tanzania was also aligned with China, which from 1970 to 1975 financed and helped to build the 1,860 kilometers (1,160 mi)-long TAZARA Railway from Dar es Salaam to Zambia.[16] From the mid 1980s, the regime financed itself by borrowing from the International Monetary Fund and underwent some reforms. From the mid 1980s Tanzania's GDP per capita has grown and poverty has been reduced.[17]

The unicameral National Assembly elected in 2010 has 343 members. These include the Attorney General, five members elected from the Zanzibar House of Representatives to participate in the Parliament, the special women's seats which are made up of 30% of the seats that a given party has in the House, 181 constituent seats of members of Parliament from the mainland, and 50 seats from Zanzibar. Also in the list are forty-eight appointed for women and the seats for the 10 nominated members of Parliament. At present, the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi holds about 75% of the seats in the Assembly. Laws passed by the National Assembly are valid for Zanzibar only in specifically designated union matters.

Zanzibar's House of Representatives has jurisdiction over all non-union matters. There are seventy-six members in the House of Representatives in Zanzibar, including fifty elected by the people, ten appointed by the president of Zanzibar, five ex officio members, and an attorney general appointed by the president. In May 2002, the government increased the number of special seats allocated to women from ten to fifteen, which will increase the number of House of Representatives members to eighty-one. Ostensibly, Zanzibar's House of Representatives can make laws for Zanzibar without the approval of the union government as long as it does not involve union-designated matters. The terms of office for Zanzibar's president and House of Representatives also are five years. The semi-autonomous relationship between Zanzibar and the union is a unique system of government.

Tanzania has a five-level judiciary combining the jurisdictions of tribal, Islamic, and English common law. Appeal is from the Primary Courts through the District Courts, Resident Magistrate Courts, to the High Courts, and the Court of Appeal.[18] Judges are appointed by the Chief Justice of Tanzania, except for those of the Court of Appeal and the High Court, who are appointed by the President. The Zanzibari court system parallels the legal system of the union, and all cases tried in Zanzibari courts, except for those involving constitutional issues and Islamic law, can be appealed to the Court of Appeal of the Union.[18] A commercial court was established in September 1999 as a division of the High Court.

Economy

The economy is mostly based on agriculture, which accounts for more than half of the GDP, provides 75% (approximately) of exports, and employs approximately 75% of the workforce. Topography and climate, though, limit cultivated crops to only 4% of the land area. The nation has many natural resources including minerals, natural gas, and tourism.

Extraction of natural gas began in the 2000s. Gas is drawn into the commercial capital, Dar Es Salaam and exported to various markets overseas. Tanzania has vast amounts of minerals including gold, diamonds, coal, iron, uranium, nickel, chrome, tin, platinum, coltan, niobium, and others. It was announced in February 2012 that the collapsed volcano approximately 200km north of Mbeya, Mount Ngualla, contained one of the largest rare earths oxide deposits in the world.[19]

It is the third-largest producer of gold in Africa after South Africa and Ghana. The country is also known for Tanzanite, a type of precious gemstone that is found only in Tanzania. The mineral sector started to pick-up slowly in the late 90s; major discoveries are announced regularly. However, the mineral sector has yet to start contributing significantly to the overall Tanzanian economy, and industry is still mainly limited to processing agricultural products and light consumer goods.

Growth from 1991 to 1999 featured industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals, led by gold. Commercial production of natural gas from the Songo Songo island in the Indian Ocean off the Rufiji Delta commenced in 2004,[20] with natural gas being pumped in a pipeline to Dar es Salaam, the bulk of it converted to electricity by both public utility and private operators. A new gas field is being brought on stream in Mnazi Bay.

Recent public sector and banking reforms, as well as revamped and new legislative frameworks, have all helped increase private-sector growth and investment. Short-term economic progress also depends on curbing corruption.[21]

Prolonged drought during the early years of the 21st century has severely reduced electricity generation capacity (some 60% of Tanzania's electricity supplies are generated by hydro-electric methods).[22] During 2006, Tanzania suffered a crippling series of "load-shedding" or power-rationing episodes caused by a shortfall of generated power, largely because of insufficient hydro-electric generation. Plans to increase gas- and coal-fueled generation capacity are likely to take some years to implement, and growth is forecast to be increased to 7% or more per year.[23]

Administrative subdivisions

Tanzania is divided into 26 regions (mkoa), 21 on the mainland and five in Zanzibar (three on Unguja, two on Pemba). Ninety-nine districts (wilaya), each with at least one council, have been created to further increase local authority; the councils are also known as local government authorities. There are 114 councils operating in 99 districts; 22 are urban and 92 are rural. The 22 urban units are further classified as city councils (Dar es Salaam and Mwanza), municipal councils (Arusha, Dodoma, Iringa, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya, Morogoro, Shinyanga, Tabora, and Tanga) or town councils (the remaining eleven communities).

Geography

At 947,300 km²,[24] Tanzania is the world's 31st-largest country. Compared to other African countries, it is slightly smaller than Egypt and comparable in size to Nigeria. It lies mostly between latitudes 1° and 12°S, and longitudes 29° and 41°E.

Tanzania is mountainous in the northeast, where Mount Kilimanjaro,[25] Africa's highest peak, is situated. To the north and west are the Great Lakes of respectively Lake Victoria (Africa's largest lake) and Lake Tanganyika (the continent's deepest lake, known for its unique species of fish) – and to the southwest lies Lake Malawi whose elongated depression forms most of the country's border with Malawi. Central Tanzania comprises a large plateau, with plains and arable land. The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the island of Zanzibar lying just offshore.

The government of Tanzania through its department of tourism has embarked on a campaign to promote the Kalambo water falls in the southwestern region of Rukwa as one of Tanzania's main tourist destinations. The Kalambo Falls are the second highest in Africa and are located near the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika. The Menai Bay Conservation Area is Zanzibar's largest marine protected area.

Climate

Tanzania has a tropical climate. In the highlands, temperatures range between (10 and 20 °C (50 and 68 °F)) during cold and hot seasons respectively. The rest of the country has temperatures rarely falling lower than 20 °C(68 °F). The hottest period extends between November and February (25–31 °C / 77–87.8 °F while the coldest period occurs between May and August (15–20 °C / 59–68 °F). Annual temperature is 32 °C(89.6 °F). The climate is cool in high mountainous regions.

Tanzania has two major rainfall regions. One is uni-modal (December–April) and the other is bi-modal (October–December and March–May). The former is experienced in southern, south-west, central and western parts of the country, and the latter is found to the north and northern coast.

In the bi-modal regime the March–May rains are referred to as the long rains or Masika, whereas the October–December rains are generally known as short rains or Vuli. As this country lies near the equator, the climate is hot and humid. The easterlies winds cause rainfall in the eastern coastal region.

Biodiversity

Tanzania has considerable wildlife habitat, including much of the Serengeti plain, where the white-bearded wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus mearnsi) and other bovids participate in a large-scale annual migration. Up to 250,000 wildebeest perish each year in the long and arduous movement to find forage in the dry season. Tanzania is also home to 130 amphibian and over 275 reptile species, many of them strictly endemic and included in the IUCN Red Lists of different countries.[28]

Tanzania has developed a Biodiversity Action Plan to address species conservation. A recently discovered species of elephant shrew called Grey-faced Sengi was filmed for the first time in 2005, and it was known to live in just two forests in the Udzungwa Mountains. In 2008, it was listed as "vulnerable" on the 2008 Red List of Threatened Species. Lake Natron in northern Tanzania is the largest breeding site for the threatened Lesser Flamingo, a huge community of which nest in the salt marshes of the lake. Areas of East African mangroves on the coast are also important habitats.

Demographics

As of 2010, the estimated population is 43,188,000. Population distribution is extremely uneven, with density varying from 1 person per square kilometre (3/mi²) in arid regions to 51 per square kilometre (133/mi²) in the well-watered mainland highlands, to 134 per square kilometre (347/mi²) on Zanzibar.[29] More than 80% of the population is rural. Dar es Salaam is the largest city and is the commercial capital; Dodoma, located in the centre of Tanzania is the new capital and houses the Union's Parliament. The African population consists of more than 120 ethnic groups, of which the Sukuma, Nyamwezi, Chagga, Nyakyusa, Haya, Hehe, Bena, Gogo, and the Makonde have more than 1 million members. Other Bantu peoples include the Pare, Zigua, Shambaa, and Ngoni. The majority of Tanzanians, including the Sukuma and the Nyamwezi, are Bantu. Cushitic peoples include the half million Iraqw. Nilotic peoples include the nomadic Maasai and Luo, both of which are found in greater numbers in neighbouring Kenya. The Sandawe speak a language that may be related to the Khoe languages of Botswana and Namibia, while the language of the Hadza, although it has similar click consonants, is a language isolate.

The population also includes people of Arab, Indian, and Pakistani origin, and small European and Chinese communities.[30] Many also identify as Shirazis. As of 1994, the Asian community numbered 50,000 on the mainland and 4,000 on Zanzibar. An estimated 70,000 Arabs and 10,000 Europeans resided in Tanzania.[31] The Zanzibar Revolution of 12 January 1964 ended the local Arab dynasty. Thousands of Arabs and Indians in Zanzibar were massacred in riots, and thousands more were detained or fled the island.[32]

Religion

Tanzania's population has been estimated to consist of roughly – Christian 62%, Muslim 35%, followers of indigenous religious groups 3%.[33] The CIA World Factbook however states that 30% of the population is Christian with Muslim being 35% and indigenous beliefs 35%.[34]

The national census, however, has not asked for religious affiliation since 1967 as the religious balance is seen as a sensitive topic. As Tanzanians pride themselves on living together with their diversity, the use of a statistic that is conveniently equal is seen as avoiding rivalries between the various religious groups by not identifying the majority. All figures on religious statistics for Tanzania are at best educated guesswork and differ widely on the question whether there are more Christians or Muslims. Most assume that the share of traditionalists has dwindled.[35]

The Christian population is mostly composed of Roman Catholics. Among Protestants the strong numbers of Lutherans and Moravians point to the German past of the country, the numbers of Anglicans to the British history of Tanganyika. All of them have had some influence in varying degrees from the Walokole movement (East African Revival) which has also been fertile ground for the spread of charismatic and Pentecostal groups. Zanzibar is about 97% Muslim. On the mainland, Muslim communities are concentrated in coastal areas, with some large Muslim majorities also in inland urban areas especially and along the former caravan routes. A large majority of the Muslim population is Sunni. The Islamic population of Dar es Salaam, the largest and richest city in Tanzania, is composed of mainly Sunni Muslims.

There are also active communities of other religious groups, primarily on the mainland, such as Buddhists, Hindus, and Bahá'ís.[36]

Language

Swahili in Arabic script on the clothes of an African woman from East Africa, Tanzania Early 1900s

Swahili language and English are the Official languages, however the former is the national language.[37] English is still the language of higher courts,[1] it can however be considered a de facto official language. Tanzanians see themselves as having two "official" languages, English and Swahili. Swahili is seen as the unifying language of the country between different tribes, who each have their own tribal language; English serves the purpose of providing Tanzanians with the ability to participate in the global economy and culture. The first language typically learned by a Tanzanian is that of his or her tribe, with Swahili and English learned thereafter.

According to the official linguistic policy of Tanzania, as announced in 1984, Swahili is the language of the social and political sphere as well as primary and adult education, whereas English is the language of secondary education, universities, technology, and higher courts.[1] Though the British government financially supports the use of English in Tanzania,[1] its usage in the Tanzanian society has diminished over the past decades: In the seventies Tanzanian university students used to speak English with each other, whereas now they almost exclusively use Swahili outside the classroom. Even in secondary school and university classes, where officially only English should be used, it is now quite common to use a mix of Swahili and English.

Other spoken languages are Indian languages, especially Gujarati, and Portuguese (spoken by Indians and Mozambican blacks, respectively) and to a lesser extent French (from neighbouring Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of the Congo). Historically German was widely spoken during that colonial period, but this practice is already forgotten.

Education

The literacy rate in Tanzania is estimated as 73%.[38] Education is compulsory for seven years, until children reach the age of 15 years, but most children do not attend school until this age, and some do not attend at all. In 2000, 57% of children age 5–14 years were attending school. As of 2006, 87.2% of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.[39]

Health

The under-five mortality rate in 2010 is estimated to be 76 out of 1,000.[40] Life expectancy at birth is estimated to be 52.[41] The 15–60 year old adult mortality (the probability of dying between the ages 15–60) in 2009 was 456/1000 for men and 311/1000 for women.[42]

The leading cause of death in children who survive the neonatal period is malaria.[43] Other leading causes of death in under 5’s is pneumococcal disease (pneumonia) and rotavirus (diarrhea). The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a significant problem in Tanzania; in 2009, the prevalence rate was estimated to be 5.6% of the adult population.[44]Anti-retroviral treatment coverage for people with advanced HIV infection was 30% in 2011 – 7% below the average for the continent.[45] According to the 2011 UNAIDS Report, HIV prevalence has declined among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics, young people (ages 15–24 years) and men in the general population.[46]

2006 data show that 55% of the population had sustainable access to improved drinking water sources and 33% had sustainable access to improved sanitation.[45]

Culture

The music of Tanzania stretches from traditional African music to the string-based taarab to a distinctive hip hop known as bongo flava. Famous taarab singers names are Abbasi Mzee, Culture Musical Club, Shakila of Black Star Musical Group.

Tanzania has remarkable position in art. Two styles became world known: Tingatinga and Makonde. Tingatinga are the popular African paintings painted with enamel paints on canvas. Usually the motifs are animals and flowers in colourful and repetitive design. The style was started by Mr. Edward Saidi Tingatinga born in South Tanzania. Later he moved to Dar Es Salaam. Since his death in 1972 the Tingatinga style expanded both in Tanzania and worldwide. Makonde is both a tribe in Tanzania (and Mozambique) and a modern sculpture style. It is known for the high Ujamaas (Trees of Life) made of the hard and dark ebony tree. Tanzania is also a birthplace of one of the most famous African artists – George Lilanga.

Football is widely played all over the country with fans divided between two major clubs, Young African Sports Club (Yanga) and Simba Sports Club (Simba). Football is the most popular sport in Tanzania, despite the little success that has been achieved by the national team. To date, they have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup and have made just one appearance in the African Cup of Nations, back in 1980, where they finished last in their group with just 1 draw and 2 losses.

Basketball is also played but mainly in the army and schools. Hasheem Thabeet is a Tanzanian-born NBA player with the Portland Trailblazers. He is the first Tanzanian to play in the NBA. Cricket is a rapidly growing sport in Tanzania after hosting the ICC Cricket League division 4 in 2008, Tanzania finished with one win for the tournament, and Tanzania also has its own national team. Rugby is a minor sport in Tanzania. Tanzania now has a national team, which used to be part of the East Africa team, but was separated. The city of Arusha is home to Tanzanian rugby, and the city was host to 2007 Castel Beer Trophy.

Lettris is a curious tetris-clone game where all the bricks have the same square shape but different content. Each square carries a letter. To make squares disappear and save space for other squares you have to assemble English words (left, right, up, down) from the falling squares.

boggle

Boggle gives you 3 minutes to find as many words (3 letters or more) as you can in a grid of 16 letters. You can also try the grid of 16 letters. Letters must be adjacent and longer words score better. See if you can get into the grid Hall of Fame !

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